Episode 1 - Excitement at the Rusty Spoon
Description: In our debut episode, we meet Rhakna, Mara, and Triggus at a small-town tavern where open mic night seems to have gone a little astray. Can our new friends make it through a single evening without being accused of attempted murder? ...No. The answer is no, they can't. Synopsis Character and Player Introductions The episode opens with DM Becca introducing the group, mentioning that nobody else at the table has ever played D&D before, that she has never DM'ed before, and that she has only played D&D a small handful of times. Ashley introduces herself by saying she will be playing a half-orc paladin named Rhakna, who is devoted to the church of Bahamut, a dragon. She says Rhakna looks very orc-ish: She's tall (about 6'3'') and she's green, and buff, and has little teeth sticking out -- and she's level 1. Alexa introduces herself and says she will be playing a changeling rogue named Kai. She says her party-mates currently know her as Mara, a human woman on the shorter side, who is slender and pale with blonde hair. Kim introduces herself, saying she will be playing a triton bard named Triggus Garganath. The girls have a short discussion about how Triggus Garganath is the Most D&D Name Ever. Kim says that Triggus plays the bagpipes, which is one of the reasons he had to leave home -- his family just couldn't take it anymore. So Triggus bought a van and lived in his van down by the river. On the side of the van is a spray painted picture of Poseidon. Campaign Plot Our main characters find themselves in the small seaside town of Edoran one evening, and they have all converged at the only tavern in the city, The Rusty Spoon. Rhakna is there to unwind, Mara has been traveling all day and stopped for dinner and a drink, and Kim reveals that this is Triggus' first evening on land, so he "just went to where the lights were." Inside The Rusty Spoon is a green dragonborn bartender (Max), two half-orcs (Dirk and Rue) half-heartedly guarding the door, and three folks playing a dice game around a table. There is a stage, which an energetic half-elf emcee (who introduces himself as Xander) stands up on to announce open mic night sign-ups. Triggus immediately makes his way towards the list to sign up, and a smug-looking elf pushes past him and haughtily questions whether Triggus is really going to perform. Triggus responds affirmatively, saying that he has a gift to share with the world. The elven man (named Coralius) puts his name first on the list, and Triggus, unflapped, adds his name directly underneath. In the meantime, Rhakna is attempting to chat up the bartender to find work, without success. It seems her orcish appearance in a small town isn't always met with a warm welcome. Xander introduces Coralius to the crowd, who is met with enthusiastic applause. He plays an incredibly beautiful and moving song, which is a little intimidating and disheartening to Triggus. The crowd reacts with cheers, whistles, and explosive applause. When Coralius' performance ends, Xander, who has been moved to tears, remarks that he'd hate to be the guy who goes on stage after that performance...and then calls Triggus up to the stage. Triggus steps on-stage, giving himself a pep talk. He is singing this evening, sans bagpipes, because he doesn't feel the crowd is ready for the wonder that is his bagpipes. He then belts out a soulful rendition of Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire -- and the crowd is pretty impressed -- so much so that it seems to ruffle Coralius a bit. While Triggus is on stage, the dice game begins to get a little rowdy -- particularly the dwarven man who is losing. As he gets more riled up, the dwarven man finally gives a yell of rage, jumps up from his chair, and attempts to flip a table. This causes the large human man to stand up and the two start arguing and shoving each other. Triggus is oblivious to the potential bar fight, while Mara scoots out of the way. Rhakna immediately steps in and tries to break up the fight, which causes both the dwarf and the human to turn on Rhakna and start yelling at her. When the human man gets in her face, Rhakna throws a punch (the first swing of the campaign!), but misses. The man tries to return a swing, but also misses. In the meantime, the dwarf stomps to the nearest table (which has Mara sitting at it), grabs a bowl of soup, and flings it right at Triggus, who is still performing on stage. Triggus, who is unaware of the customs on land, decides to leave the stage and ask Mara if being "drenched from the liquid from your bowl" means he's been honored. While he is trying to figure out the appropriate reaction to the insult, the dwarf approaches him and starts heckling him, which Triggus obliviously ignores. This makes the dwarf even angrier, and he prepares to throw a punch. It is at this time that the bar security finally decides to step in. The two half-orc guards break up Rhakna's scuffle, and she gets kicked out of the tavern. The barkeep approaches Triggus, Mara, and the dwarf, and kicks out Triggus and Mara for bringing trouble into his tavern. Coralius snickers as Triggus leaves the building. Outside of The Rusty Spoon, our three adventurers introduce themselves to each other. As they are discussing Triggus' greatness, a gnome wanders up to them, holding the sides of his head and clearly crazed with pain. He lets out a loud scream and falls to the ground in front of the adventurers. Rhakna tries to assess the situation, and the gnome cries out for a phantom sound to stop. The gnome's screams are so loud that the two guards come outside and immediately accuse the party of assaulting the gnome. Triggus insists that the gnome is performing, while Mara denies their involvement in his injuries. Rhakna insists that something must be done immediately, and the male half-orc sends the female half-orc to get someone called Gabe. While they are waiting, the male half-orc brings the bartender out to the scene, and we learn that the bartender's name is Max. Max reaches the same conclusion as his guards, and asks what the party has done to this poor gnome. Triggus again mentions the gnomes performance, and Rhakna insists they have done nothing and must get the gnome some help. The female half-orc comes running back to the crew with Gabe, the town's dwarven apothecarist, in tow. Gabe pulls a small jar out of his robes and rubs a gel on the screaming gnome's forehead. The gnome almost immediately passes out. Max asks Gabe what the three party members have done to the gnome, and Max assures Gabe that none of them would be skilled enough to pull of something like this. He says to figure out how to help the gnome, he needs to keep him sedated, but he is almost out of his sedative. Max volunteers our adventurers to trek through the Kinen Jungle to the Karmea Caverns to get more of the fungus that is used to make this particular sedative. He says it would prove their innocence and redeem them in his eyes. The three party members quickly agree to the mission, and are given directions, jars, and a map. Since it is late in the evening, Max offers a free room to the party for the night. Once in the room, Rhakna falls asleep and begins snoring loudly immediately. Mara takes the bed farthest from Rhakna. Triggus goes into the restroom and discovers a mirror for the first time. He is so enraptured by his appearance (dried soup on his shoulders and all) that he begins to sing, "Hello, I Love You" by The Doors. The people in the bedroom next to the bathroom bang on the wall, which Triggus takes as encouragement to sing louder. When they finally give up, he goes to bed because he has lost his audience, and the episode ends. Notable NPCs * Max * Half-Orc Guard 1 (Dirk) * Half-Orc Guard 2 (Rue) * Xander * Coralius * Screaming Gnome (Garrick) * Gabe Notable Locations * Edoran * The Rusty Spoon Quotes Category:Episodes